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Hypnos/Somnus
Hypnos (meaning "sleep") is the minor Olympian god of sleep. He is the son of Nyx and Erebus. His Roman counterpart is Somnus. He has at least three children at Camp Half-Blood, Clovis and two others. Hypnos is where the words 'hypnotism' and 'hypnosis' are derived from. Somnus is where the medical term for sleepwalking, somnambulism, is derived from. Hypnos was very cheeky and mischievous as a child, putting people to sleep at serious moments. History Long before the Trojan War, Hera was angry at Hercules, and she persuaded Hypnos to make Zeus sleep while she tormented the hero. When Zeus awoke, he was furious. He searched for Hypnos and finally found him hiding in the arms of his mother, Nyx. Zeus overcame his anger and simply warned Hypnos not to try such a trick again, and Hypnos went unpunished. During the Trojan War, Hera wanted to distract Zeus from the battle so she could assist the Akhaians, who seemed to be losing the war. She wanted Hypnos to cast a spell of sleep on Zeus, but he refused. At first Hera offered Hypnos a golden throne crafted by Hephaestus, but she was forced to raise the price when Hypnos reminded her of the only time he had dared cast sleep on Zeus. In preparation for this new deception, Hypnos made Hera swear oaths of her sincerity. He agreed to help her deceive Zeus for the hand of Pasithea, one of the Graces. He turned himself into a bird and, before Zeus could see him, hid in the top of the trees on Mount Ida. He stayed hidden until Hera had seduced Zeus. When the father of gods was dulled by pleasure and sleep, Hypnos flew to Poseidon and urged him to increase his efforts in helping the Akhaians because Zeus was asleep and unaware of his meddling. Poseidon strode through the ranks of soldiers and urged them on. Finally, his bellowing and screeching roused Zeus from his slumber but, in that short time, the Akhaians had turned the battle back on the Trojans. Hera’s trick had worked. Zeus never found out that Hypnos had betrayed him. His palace was a dark cave where sun never shines and River Lethe flowed beside it. Although Hypnos wasn't one of the most active gods of that time, he was famous for the role he had played in the story of Endymion and Selene, the Titaness of the moon. When Endymion was granted immortality and eternal youth by means of endless sleep, he received the power to sleep with his eyes open by Hypnos so he could constantly watch his beloved Selene. The reason Hypnos granted him this gift was because the god of sleep loved the young king/prince/shepherd and thus could always gaze in his beautiful eyes. Personality Though not a villain or immortal, Hypnos is far from being the most responsible or honorable god to exist. He has been said to do nothing much but sleep, and didn't play a role in the last Second Olympian War, implying that he is a lazy god (if not the laziest). He also show to be very cowardly in the past, having hid himself in his mother's arms to avoid Zeus' anger, and when Hera requested his assistance against Zeus yet again, Hypnos only complies when she swore to gave him Pasithea's hand in marriage. He was also described to have used his power immaturely when he was a child, much to the other gods' chagrin. Appearance As Hypnos has not appeared yet, his physical description can't be assured. However, he has been said to be the twin brother of Thanatos, so he presumably has the same "teakwood" skin, black hair, golden eyes and dark-purple/blue wings. It's unknown if he has the same physical size and musculature of his brother, though, as Hypnos is said to be quite lazy, but it's been worth to notice that he's a shapeshifter. He is often shown with small wings on his head. Somnus The Roman form of Hypnos is known as Somnus. While Hypnos is the god of sleep and didn't do much in Greek mythology, Clovis (a son of Hypnos) explains that Somnus would kill people that fell asleep at their posts, such as Palinurus; the helmsman of Aeneas, a Trojan hero. Clovis uses his father as an example of how the Roman and Greek gods, while still the same could be very different from each other. Abilities Despite being a minor god and very lazy, Hypnos seems to be much more powerful than his status and antics leads others to believe he really is, likely because he's a child of Nyx, a protogenos. *Standard powers of a god. *Flight through levitation or his wings. *Hypnokinesis: As the god of sleep, he has divine authority over sleep. His signature power that allows to him induce sleep, visions and even manipulate dreams in a very similar way that of his son Morpheus, but to a much more powerful degree, since that while Morpheus took great effort to make Manhattan sleep (and even then only with Hecate's help), Hypnos has been know to use this power with more powerful beings, in which even Zeus (the gods' ruler and one of the Big Three) has proved in two different occasions to be susceptible to Hypnos' power. *Shapeshifting: Hypnos can change his appearance into anything that he wants to be, and has been know to turned into a bird in the past. Children Greek: Roman: Category:Gods and Goddesses Category:Underworld Deities